Employment industry and occupational continuity in Germany: from the Nazi regime to the post-war economic miracle

Abstract

Using retrospective survey data that cover 1939, 1950, 1960 and 1971, I compare individual-level changes in employment industry and occupational status in Germany from the beginning of World War II to the post-war reconstruction era dubbed the Economic Miracle (Wirtschaftswunder). This comparison reveals that, with only a few exceptions, labour allocation developments remained relatively stable even in the face of huge political and macroeconomic change.

Keywords:

• employment
• evolution
• regime change
• revolution
• Germany
• Arab Spring
• Iraq

JEL Classification:

• N34
• J01

Acknowledgement

I thank Knut Gerlach, Olaf Hübler, Bernhard Schimpl-Neimanns, Alexander Straub, Stephan Thomsen and Reinhard Weisser for helpful comments and GESIS Mannheim for providing access to the Mikrozensus 1971 data set.

Notes

¹ The data source is documented in http://www.gesis.org/missy/missy-home/auswahl-datensatz/mz-zusatzerhebung-1971/